Best Directing Team

“They gave me a scene but when I got into the room Aziz Ansari said, ‘forget the script, can we just improvise for a little bit’” recalls Noel Wells as we chat via webcam (watch above) about her audition to play his love interest on the new Netflix series “Master of None.” As she explains, “He basically presented me with this scenario: the condom broke. I essentially reacted with ‘Hey it’s not a big deal.’ That became the opening of the pilot episode. It was based on what we had improvised in the audition.”

She thinks “Master of None” was “about casting people that were real people and that had their own view.” She goes on to explain that the show observes how real people have different views on the overwhelming amount of choice available today. “You can circle around that forever; what’s better, no choices or all the choices? In the end, I don’t like choices. I think Aziz likes having lots of choices.”

Wells plays Rachel who becomes a love interest for Dev (Ansari). She defines the couple thus: “They respect each other and challenge each other, in a way where they both listen. We all need to be open to listening to each other and challenging people’s ideas. Without saying ‘Hey you’re wrong, or a bad guy.’ I think that’s what was going right with their relationship and also the show. That’s what makes the show special.”

However, she notes that the season ended on a sour note. “The arguments were all coming from a place I had been in before. I like to negotiate things and never want to cause any problems. But at the same time, you have to draw lines and you have to stand up for yourself. Any time Rachel put her foot down, that’s like me in my life.”

The actress recalls “my favorite scene was where Dev’s trying to spice up their sex life and buys a sex pillow. Rachel’s like ‘it’s just a pillow.’ It reflected how Dev was always trying to find the best version of something or try to solve problems externally. Rachel thinks ‘we have pillows, this is not really going to solve what’s happening.” As for whether there is hope for this couple in future seasons, Wells says, “I think they would both need to figure themselves out before they can fully commit.”

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